I’ve been out of circulation for quite a few months – and there’s a reason for that. Back in late 2014 I was struck by a nasty disease called polymyalgia, which came close at the time to destroying my mobility. Fortunately, once diagnosed, the solution was revealed – prednisone.

Aaargh! Well I wasn’t entirely happy with that, but does one want to walk freely or not? In addition, it was causing mayhem with my blood – too many platelets, anemia etc. So my doctor put me on a modest dose of prednisone and over the period of about 18 months we tailed it back and achieved a recovery.

In the meantime, however, I had an accident and decided to go to a chiropractor (fortunately a very good one). I’d had chiropractic before because I have 2 curves in my spine, not helped by riding horses. So we entered into a process of sorting out these curves and re-stabilising my backbone.

I’d been quite depressed at the time of the polymyalgia – a mental state that was not helped by seeing all the things that needed doing round my 10 acre property and not being able to do a thing about them (physically or financially) – and so the obvious answer seemed to be to move away from this place, which I’ve been associated with for 47 years and have loved dearly. I’d even got to the point where I wasn’t interested anymore.

But things kept getting in my way – not the least being shortage of finances to get things tidied up for sale. On top of that I had a tree fall on my roof (damage? – oh yes!) and a second tree taken down because it was in danger of following suit. Fallout everywhere. Funds getting even lower. I seemed to be stuck in mud.

Then just before last Christmas, the tide started to turn. We began to win with the chiropractic. I’m now getting around my land as in the old days – and for the most part it’s steep and hilly – and working quite hard, if carefully. There are a few things I used to do and now cannot, but apart from that, the recovery is little short of miraculous.

I’ve decided to stay – how could I ever have thought of leaving? To keep my grass down I’ve taken on breeding rare breeds Damara sheep. My first 2 bought in early July are a Damara/Arapawa cross and her daughter. Both have had lambs to a Damara crossbred ram, and I now have a fullblood Damara ram also. So the headcount is currently 4 females and 2 males – and the lambs at 2 weeks old are a delight!

Below is one of my drawings of an Arapawa ram. This breed, now officially accepted as a Rare Breed in this country, came about by early explorers and whalers dropping off sheep (probably of merino origin) on Arapawa Island in Cook Strait – where they continued to breed. No doubt the motive was to provide a food source.

Initially they were regarded as game. Later they were marked for extermination, until their value as a gene pool was recognized and a sanctuary established for them on the island, all thanks to the efforts of Betty Rowe and her husband Walt. Now there are a number of breeders of Arapawa sheep throughout New Zealand.

Like Damaras, Arapawa sheep are shedders, and are naturally resistant to fly-strike.

Pencil drawing of a bull Elk (or Wapiti) bugling during the mating season or rut.

In New Zealand, we call it ‘the roar’ – a time when young men’s fancies turn not to thoughts of love – not human love anyway – but to thoughts of bush stalking, cabins, tents, rifles, calibers, campfires and cameras.

For them, this is THE time of the year.

Very disappointing for the young maidens in their lives, but get used to it, it’s an immovable fact of life…

Original in graphite pencil, colorized in Photoshop. B/W version available HERE.

Like this:

Before long, once the challenge is given, a bellow of reply comes echoing back through the forest, and the Challenger knows for sure that a rival stag is after his harem.

Both red deer stags are on full alert now, and the ball is back in the Challenger’s court again.

As mentioned previously, it is likely the stags may not be able to see each other through the forest in these early stages, so they are sizing each other up on vocals as one call follows the next.

Slowly the stranger stag moves closer. Once within sight of each other, they move in and engage quickly, lowering their antlers and locking them like wrestlers. Then comes the test of strength, body weight and agility as they push back and forth, and circle, each trying to flip the other.

Getting flipped puts a stag at the mercy of his opponent, so frequently the stag who feels himself outmatched will break away and make a run for it, with his adversary in hot pursuit.

Like this:

Following on from my All Muscle: Promoting The Great Outdoors post, the next thing one can expect if it’s mating season, or the rut (the roar as we call it in NZ), is the Challenge – in the Red Deer, a series of deep, guttural grunts, bellows, groans and huffs.

On the other hand, the first time I heard a bull elk – Cervus canadensis (or Wapiti in NZ) bugling, I was quite surprised at the high tone of the vocals, given the elk is a larger animal than the red deer.

It’s an eerie sound though, whichever species it comes from, and in the natural it carries a fair bit of emotion and suspense as the two stags size each other up and maneuver through the bush to get an advantage. Quite often the stags can’t actually see each other during the initial stages of the encounter, so they are sizing each other up – trying through the vocals to get an indication of the age, size and seriousness of intention of the potential adversary, should the episode end up in a fight.

I was blown away this morning to find that (for the first time ever) I sold two identical items to the same person.

This is probably my best-selling artwork – ‘All Muscle – Red Deer Stag’, and it certainly encapsulates the power and majesty of the great Cervus elaphus species of deer.

It has consistently sold well – on iPhone cases and posters, mainly, and I’m really pleased that it has appealed so much to hunters and wildlife lovers. The world’s increasing fascination with technology needs to be balanced by reminding us of some real life, outdoors values.

The red deer species has a very wide distribution: “The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, Iran, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being the only species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red deer have been introduced to other areas, including Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. In many parts of the world, the meat (venison) from red deer is used as a food source.” (Wikipedia)

In New Zealand, red deer are the most numerous of our introduced deer species, and hunting is encouraged throughout the north and south islands as a control measure, since they compete heavily with native birds and mammals for our unique bush habitat.

In late October I sold 2 shower curtains with the ‘All Muscle – Red Deer Stag’ artwork. I believe they will grace and enliven someone’s bathrooms beautifully, and I hope they are much enjoyed and admired.

The greatest thing that comes out of these sales is not the money (which is precious little, in fact), but the knowledge that someone liked the work enough to want to live with it – or maybe give it away to a friend.

I’d been given four small books in a series published by The Studio in London. One was “How To Draw Farm Animals” by Charles F Tunnicliffe.

There was also “How To Draw Birds” by Raymond Sheppard, “Baby Animals On The Farm” by Vere Temple and another, the name of which escapes me. They were all excellent learning tools by real quality artists – CF Tunnicliffe in particular created an enormous oeuvre of top quality work, illustrating at least 250 books – some written by himself and some authored by others.

From school, Tunnicliffe won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London, and from then on his busy working life began. He was honored by the art establishment, and the Crown. In 1978, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire – a year before he died in 1979. Tunnicliffe was the subject of a 1981 BBC Wales television documentary, True to Nature, produced by Derek Trimby and narrated by Robert Dougall.

I was fortunate. Having these books as an instruction and an example was really good for me, and they also got me closer to appreciating the world of animals and birds in art.

I’m gradually chasing these artists down, thanks to the Internet, and recently bought C F Tunnicliffe’s “Bird Portraiture”, published by The Studio in 1945 with a reprint in 1946. I scanned the pictures below, and don’t think they appear anywhere else on the net:

CF Tunnicliffe “Bird Portraiture” Illustrations

Though Tunnicliffe’s regular subjects were wildlife and the countryside, whenever he includes humans in any of his works, they take their places naturally in the scene, executed with the same style and authenticity as his landscapes, animals and birds.

C F Tunnicliffe – Ploughing Illustration from “Bird Portraiture”

He has come to be regarded as arguably one of the greatest wildlife artists of all time.